Top Ten Reads of 2010

Well, here it is. I've look my list over, ordered my faves, took some away, put some back. Thought and thought and thought over it. And here it is. My top 10 reads of 2010! :)

10. Knightley Academy by Violet Harberdasher
Much like Harry Potter with the humor and adventure mixed all in one, only no magic.


9. The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi
A space adventure by the incredible author/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, his books never fail to impress me.


8. Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink
The second book in Michelle's marvelous series that is dark and just the type of book I needed to get me out of a reading rut towards the end of this year.


7. Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
A gorgeous addition to Melissa Marr's wonderful series. Probably one of my favorite books in the actual series.


6. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
A fantastic new series that really surprised me by how awesome it was.



5. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
Maria V. Snyder + Dystopian, do I have to say more? LOVE LOVE LOVE.


4. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
A great new start to a series parallel with the Percy Jackson world. Filled with adventure and a thick book that flew by way too fast. I can't wait for more!


3. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
I loved this one so much I read the sequel right away. Very epic and dark - just the way I like my fantasy fiction.



2. Reckless by Cornelia Funke
Probably my new favorite by Cornelia. Her books never stop amazing me. Fantastical and epic with characters you won't be able to forget.



1. Peter & Max: A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham
If you love the Fables graphic novels, you will love this book. A little more adult than I expected, but with a fantastic dark and epic nature to it that you also find in his graphic novels. The villainous Pied Piper is one to be feared most definitely.

Yes, my books are also guilty of having very lovely covers as well. :)

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Black Friday - yes or no?

It's that time of year again, where shoppers around the world wake up bleary-eyed after a long day of family fun, eating and hopefully some sleeping. I have a few things on my shopping list that I'm considering going out on Black Friday for, like flat screen TV stands, but I'm not sure I can brave it.

What do you guys do? Do you go out and find deals. Are they for xmas gifts or just for items you need for yourself? Do you make a plan.. map out the stores you want, when their sales start, etc?

Most likely I won't hit up a lot of stores, but may see if there are some awesome online deals at stores like Best Buy, CSN Stores, and Amazon. Let me know what your plans are too.
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Giveaway Poll Time!

Alright, so those of you that haven't been around my blog for a year... wouldn't know that I usually celebrate December with awesome giveaways. Why is that? It's my birthday next month and Christmas! Two of my favorite days on earth. I need your help though, I have a few ideas of what I could do.. and it probably won't be crazy every day giveaways like last year... but I want to do at least a weekly giveaway or two.. so, fill out the form below to help me figure out what type of giveaways you guys want! Thanks :)




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Christmas-time is coming!

So, it's November! Can you believe it? I can't. I've been hoping around different stores, buying off my lists for the year. I picked up a cute suitcase for my little sister who will soon be traveling more and more now that she is almost 16!

What do you guys think? (Don't worry, my lil sis doesn't read my blog...)


Are you guys shopping already? Do you hit the Black Friday sales? I may actual venture out just because my favorite used bookstore is giving out $5 gift cards to the first 100 customers. I will be camping out that store. They're also doing a random giveaway of a $100 gift card. If you have a Half Priced Bookstore near you, you should definitely see if they're doing the same promo as mine.

I'm a big online shopper, so even if I don't get all of it done right away, I will definitely be doing it lazily from my home computer.
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Life Interferance

Hi guys!

I won't have much up in the way of reviews this week because my immune system isn't quite built up yet to work in a school. I've been sick since Sunday with a nasty head cold and instead of trying to get better, I've been going to work. So, when I get home my brain and body are all mushy. Yep. But onto better things...

Tonight is Smart Chicks! I'm so excited!

Also, my husband has been unemployed so he finally decided he needs to start some college classes to beef up his resume and eventually get a degree. So, I've been spending nights with him going over applications, FAFSA, and other stuff.

And wow I'm almost at 1300 followers! That is insane. No really, it is.

And I've been reading a bit more this week - short middle grade books I felt like I should've read ages ago - Bridge to Terabithia, Adventures of Captain Underpants, and more... :)

So, how's life going for you?
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Woot!

So, it's been a LONG week. I know.. seems like I've been around since there were reviews going up everyday.. but I haven't been. I just want to put my feet up on my coffee table and watch Glee.

I had a meeting after work on Tuesday, Open House until 8 pm on Wednesday and now I'm just exhausted and there's still Friday to get through work-wise.

To make it a great week (even with everything else), I received an email from CSN Stores about their Preferred Blogger program! Which just made my day. They have over 200+ online stores and I could just look around forever and still find even more stuff that I'd like to own!

So, what to get this time? hrmmmm
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Life Musings

I had no idea what to title this. If you think it's going to be anything book-related, you can tune out now if you want.

So, I had a weird day and decided to kick my butt into gear. School is starting up next week, which means 10 or more hour days and less time to dilly-dally. Also, my goal of losing weight this summer has sucked. I'm still the same weight as at the beginning and something needs to change. So, diet - check, and exercise -check.

While walking back from our little gym down the road tonight, my husband said "You should take a sabbatical from your blog" and I was like heck no. My biggest downfall this summer has been facebook games and I told him "I'll just stop with the facebook games". I don't spend a ton of time (like not half my day or anything insane) but that extra hour or two wasted on games is just not worth it. Not when my health could be at risk. I am at the heaviest I've ever ever been - probably 60 lbs heavier than I was in high school and I was not anywhere close to thin in high school as it was.

So, blogging will not be on haitus, but it may be slower around here than it has been. But I need to get my act together. I'll do what I did during school this past year and blog mostly on weekends. Heck, my computer may get a little dusty during the week - who cares.

And how did this come all about? I saw a picture from last night at a book signing and was like... really? That's me... and then we were at the gym working out and eating 3 servings of vegetables at dinner tonight cause the hubster is also chunking out.

So. That's my little rant. I'm sticking to making a better life for me. So, if I'm not on twitter much or on Google Chat.. I'm not dead.. just the opposite - leading a healthier life. :)
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An Ode to Coffee

Oh, coffee.. I love the smell of your bitter wonderfulness. My coffee maker has been neglected for the beautiful espresso machine I now have, but it all smells the same. Espresso is a fantastic creation that only a picture can describe:



A cup a day, keeps the grumpy Kristen monster away. :)
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Another Great CSN Opportunity

Well, I always feel lucky when I get an email in my inbox that says: Unique Opportunity with CSN Stores. If you haven't heard, CSN stores has over 200 online stores and sells all sorts of stuff - from furniture to dinnerware sets. I'm not sure what I'll be getting this time, but I've been looking at some of their cool decor and thinking about that.

What would you guys get if you had this opportunity? I think I've maxed my bookshelf needs right now, otherwise that would be my first thought. :-D Take a gaze around at their many stores and let me know what you would get. :)

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ALA, GenCon and Replies

So, a few different events have led to me not going to ALA this summer. Which makes me sad, but well, that's life.

1. I have no money
2. My aunt not only had plans but now has fractured her ankle


But, if anyone is going to GenCon in Indianapolis in August, let me know! My husband is a geeky gamer and I might get a wee bit bored. I'm bringing some books and plan on hitting up the anime section of the conference, but it would be nice to hang out with someone when my hubby is busy.

Comment Replies:

Also, I've been thinking on this for a while, but replying to comments... Do you guys reply to the comments on your blog? Do you want me to start replying? I haven't been because I figured no one would be stalking my blog for replies, but I can if you want to hear from me. :)
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Ways to buy more books!

So, I've been thinking lately about all the times I'm out shopping for whatever reason and I think to myself, I really want some sort of coffee drink. I'm absolutely addicted to lattes and I really have decided I spend too much on them when I could be buying books instead. Last week I received an email from CSN stores, who sell all sorts of stuff, and I began brainstorming what I would want from them for review, maybe a new bookshelf, something decorative for my bed, an espresso machine or maybe something else. It wasn't that hard to decide, even though they have over 200 stores!

So, what did I decide I wanted? An espresso maker! So I can make my own lattes and save money to spend on books!

Doesn't it look fabulous?


How about you? Are you a big fan of lattes or addicted to any other kind of expensive drink?
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What I love: Music!

Okay, so someone asked me what kind of music I liked and there's really only one way to show you guys how crazy my music ranges. That is by the awesomeness that is contained below. I have a lot of favorite songs that are in my general genre of music listening (aka rock) and then a lot that are way out there. So, to get started, let's start with a song I love, but the video is totally messed up...

(All links lead to YouTube)

Wrong by Depeche Mode

And here are some of the songs I search out a ton on a daily basis for my listening pleasure:

I Get Off by Halestorm
Crawl by Breaking Benjamin
I'm So Sick by Flyleaf
Monster by Skillet
Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold
The Good Life by Three Days Grace
I Hate You by Sick Puppies
Bury Me Alive by We are the Fallen
No More Sorrow by Linkin Park
Your Betrayal by Bullet for My Valentine

Okay, I know.. all of those sound like really angsty angry songs.. but they are all great.. I swear! Um yeah.. so here's the happy, pop-y stuff I dance around the apartment to:

I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry
Just Dance by Lady Gaga
Hey Mama by Black-Eyed Peas
Tik Tok by Kesha
Right Round by Flo Rida

And here's some classics that I just love.. across all genres:

Killing Me Softly by The Fugees
Minnie the Moocher by Cab Calloway
Sweet Home Chicago by The Blues Brothers
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
Four Seasons (Winter) by Vivaldi

Yeah.. I know.. big gap. I used to be the classics girl in middle and high school - I listened to only classical music more or less and read only classic novels. Seriously.. I must have repressed some inner angst from those years. :)


Well here's an unknown fact for you - my whole family is musically talented. I still sort of play the piano - which is tricky since I don't own one currently.. my father was my high school band and choir director. So there's the influence - he also plays in a blues band and him and my mom both perform in Big Band and Jazz performances often.
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Upcoming Blogoversary

So, I'm pretty sure I'm settled on what I want to do for my Blogoversary in about 10ish days. . . Do you remember my birthday bash back in December? Was that too long ago...

Here's a refresher - I did a comment contest with a few winners and then gave a book away each day in the month of December.. that's right. It was insane.

So, I'm scaling back slightly... a book giveaway - every OTHER day. How does that sound? I also love my comment contests so I will be doing a box of books for US and then internationally a book of choice from the Book Depository. Sound good?

So, I'm also putting it out there again - if you want to donate a book to contest off one of the days or write me up some sort of guest post/guest review - I would love you forever. Just shoot me an email at dragonzgoil at gmail dot com.

And, would it be more fun if the box of books was a mystery - or listed out? What do you guys think?

Other than that, I'm just excited to start giving away books. I have a stack I've been building up - some signed ARCs, etc... :) I just love contests, don't you?
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Another great day!

This week has been filled with awesome author events and that end of school feeling is really resonating deep within me. Just two weeks after this one and I'm free to read, read and read some more! :)

So, another fantastic surprise came this week from CSN Stores - who have over 200 stores online. They offered me a chance to review an item from any of their stores. I'm not sure what to choose quite yet, maybe a bookshelf, new bathroom vanities, or maybe something completely off the wall.

I will be conferring with the husband on this one. :-D
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Updates, Meanderings, and Me

Notice the deadness the last two days? Maybe not.. oh well.

What have I been doing?

• Meeting DJ McHale and Scott Westerfeld
• Meeting Shannon Hale (and a cool blogger named Miss Eliza)
• Working myself into exhaustion at school because it is Book Fair week!!!
  
• Watching my husband go off to work again!! (Yay for money and boo for dishes piling up).
  
• Lots and lots of sleeping...

And did I mention I started getting sick Monday... *sad face* I really really really hate colds/sinus infections/whatever the heck is clogging up my nose and throat.

So, I'm not going to apologize for being absent and maybe semi-lazy as I write this (finally having a full few hours to sit on the couch with my laptop) - but I figure I should give you some reason.

Look forward to the following reviews coming up:

Numbers by Rachel Ward
The Cave by Steve McGill
Gateway by Sharon Shinn
Dark Life by Kat Falls
Dead Guy Spy by David Lubar
and a whole heck of a lotta graphic novels...

and since I haven't updated my reading sidebar in a while:

I am reading:



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Are you a librarian?

Thinking about April has made me realize that National Library Week is in two weeks! I wanted to do something fun on the blog to promote libraries and what better way than to scout among my local blogger buddies for librarians or budding librarians.

I was thinking about asking Librarians to recommend a book or a few books that are either "hot" items in their library - or lesser known gems.

If you're a librarian and interested in helping me celebrate National Library Week with a guest post on this topic - please email me!

dragonzgoil at gmail dot com

I know a few and will email around a bit myself. I'll take as many as email me!

Thanks guys!

Kate from The Neverending Shelf is also looking for a few good librarians AND library goers to interview during that week. You can email her at neverendingshelf at gmail dot com!
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Teen Fire

So, I joined this cool new website called Teen Fire at the beginning of January and just let it sit around.

Due to my obsession with contests, I've become motivated to get involved. Teen Fire is run by Sourcebooks and right now they're having a competition for their spring releases - the next Bran Hambric book, Beautiful Dead.. and more! It's basically a popularity contest so go join now!

For more info about the contest, visit TeenFire.

If you join or already are a member of TeenFire, please add me as a friend! Check out My Page.

Thanks!

Visit Teen Fire

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Survey!

The point of this survey is to help me improve my blog. And since the Bloggiesta is coming up next Friday, I figured I would post this up. Please please please be honest.. It is anonymous so feel free to tell me the honest truth, kay?



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Top 20 Books Read in 2009

Alright, I'm breaking down - even though I could finish a book or two today, I'm posting my list...

I have read nearly 250 books this year. See my list here.

Out of those books, it was tough to pick 9. . . so I'm picking 20 AND I'm not ordering them :-P It was hard enough selecting 20, I'm NOT ordering them.

So, in any random order.. these are the 20 BEST reads of 2009 for me. They all touched me in a different way or surprised me so much that it had to make this list.

Click the book covers for summaries...






















And best series that I finished this year:

What were some of your best reads this year?

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Another fake cover!

I thought due to this awesome contest from Page Turners, that I would do another lovely fake book cover.

Here's what I came up with - yes, I worked the picture a bit in Gimp 2.


Jared was finally getting his life together. He'd stop hanging out with his pot head friends, dragged the drumset out of the basement and joined a band - one that didn't need drugs to create music. All it takes is one pretty girl to get him to start doing drugs again - only this time it's heavier and hotter. But Karolina has a past and there's bad things coming their way.. something even the drugs couldn't soften. There's more to Jared that meets the eye as well, but will he be able to overcome his addictions in time to see what's really going on?
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